Objective

The universally recognised need to curb greenhouse gas emissions and secure a cheap and environmentally friendly supply of energy is a major economic and social driver that can be met by hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The Installation Permitting Guidance (IPG) for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Stationary Applications (HYPER) project is aimed at developing for small stationary hydrogen and fuel cell systems to fast track approval of safety and procedural issues, by providing a comprehensive agreed installation permitting process for developers, design engineers, manufacturers, installers and authorities having jurisdiction. To achieve this objective the project brings together a group of 27 organisations, made up of 15 partners and 12 members of a supporting Monitoring and Implementation Group. The partners include hydrogen system and fuel-cell manufacturers, installers and operators, regulators, research laboratories and universities.

The Group has a complementary make up and includes Industrial Associations, hydrogen distributors and an aerospace company. To develop the IPG the consortium will bring together all currently available documents, best practice and experience and identify and fill gaps in current knowledge. The workprogramme includes: detailed case studies of representative fuel-cell and hydrogen installations carefully selected from across Europe, USA and Canada; modelling and experimental risk-evaluation studies to investigate fire and explosion phenomena associated with foreseeable and catastrophic fault scenarios of hydrogen and fuel cell systems and associated fuel supplies; a three stage drafting process for the IPG, which will take feedback from interested stakeholders; a number of carefully targeted dissemination initiatives will be taken in order to ensure the adoption and use of the IPG and project results by stakeholders and with the HySafe NOE the full adoption and continuous development of the IPG after the end of the Project.

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On the fast track to green energy availability

Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies can provide cheap and environmentally friendly power for industries and individuals. Standardising safety regulations and procedures for installers should enhance commercialisation of such technologies, providing a fast-track to installation of small, stationary, renewable energy-based power systems.

While reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is a major European goal, gaps and deficiencies in current regulations, codes and standards (RCS) have inhibited the widespread installation of small stationary hydrogen and fuel cell systems that could provide cheap and environmentally friendly energy to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and homes.
the aim of the EU-funded ‘Installation permitting guidance for hydrogen and fuel cells stationary applications’ (Hyper) project was to develop a comprehensive stakeholder agreed installation process for developers, design engineers, manufacturers and installers across the European Union.
the researchers identified problem areas in current RCS as well as case studies for risk assessment to guide modelling and experimental work. They produced a comprehensive database to be used in preparing and evaluating the installation permitting guide (IPG) and evaluated the installations selected for case studies. Following that, team members carried out modelling and experimental work to fill in knowledge gaps related to hydrogen release, dispersion and combustion phenomena, among others.
the investigators completed the IPG after extensive consultation with and feedback from the various stakeholders to ensure synergies among European approaches. They distributed a CD ROM and developed an interactive website for technical stakeholders as well as an executive guide to the IPG for potential users who may not be interested in all the details of the full guide.
the IPG provides a fast-track means of safety and procedural approval for hydrogen and fuel cell installations. Thus, it facilitates commercialisation of these technologies and should enhance their use by industry and individuals, providing cheap and environmentally friendly energy for stationary power applications.

The aim of the HYPER project was to develop fast-track approval for small stationary hydrogen and fuel cell systems, concerning safe procedures and to enable comprehensive agreed installation process for developers, design engineers, manufacturers and installers across the European Union.

More specifically, the project pursued the following objectives: - to identify gaps and deficiencies in current regulations, codes and standards (RCS) with respect to fuel cell installations and fuel supply; - to carry out risk evaluation / assessment of fuel cell systems / installations to identify key scenarios to be investigated as case studies and via experimental and modelling work; - to produce a structured database to support installation permitting guide (IPG) development and enable its evaluation; - to collect comprehensive case studies representing stationary fuel cells and hydrogen applications; - to perform experimental work to fill gaps in current knowledge, e.g. release, ventilation, dispersion, ignition, detection, fire and modelling of hydrogen release, dispersion and combustion phenomena; - to compile the IPG in form of a generic document structured around different types of stationary systems; - to disseminate and implement IPG to ensure guidance developed is widely adopted and applied by all stakeholders (regulatory agencies, codification bodies, industry, local authorities, etc.) to accelerate rate of installation of stationary hydrogen systems across EU.

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by securing a cheap and environmentally friendly supply of energy is a major economic and social driver facilitated by hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Future development and commercialisation of hydrogen and fuel cell systems for stationary power applications will enable usage in urban environments, serving industry, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and domestic premises. Presently small installations provide backup power, renewable energy storage systems, and CHP units utilising a range of fuel cell technologies.

In order for this market to grow, harmonised standards and guidance regarding safety issues are required by developers, design engineers, manufacturers, installers and regulatory authorities. To date limited relevant guidance is available for installers of fuel cell and hydrogen stationary systems in Europe.

During the HYPER project, the following tasks were carried out: - gaps and deficiencies identified in current regulations, codes and standards (RCS) with respect to fuel cell installations and fuel supply; - risk evaluation / assessment of fuel cell systems / installations to identify key scenarios to be investigated as case studies and via experimental and modelling work; - completion of case studies of stationary fuel cell systems; selected installations were reviewed to identify potential problems, and best practice; - modelling of hydrogen release, dispersion and combustion phenomena, to assist in the design of experiments, validate experimental work and test hypothese; - completion of experimental work to fill gaps in current knowledge e.g. release, ventilation, dispersion, ignition, detection, fire and modelling of hydrogen release, dispersion and combustion phenomena and optical sensors; - review of IPG drafts by Partners and external expert assessors from SCG, regulators and industry; - completion of the report into the current state of the art in hydrogen gas sensors and sensor systems; - completion of the drafts and final version of the IPG.

Following the above, the output results can be summarised as follows. - The case studies to present information about fuel cell installations, and identify risk and best practice were attained and summarised for inclusion in the IPG. - The modelling of hydrogen release, dispersion and combustion phenomena was completed out and the final report generated, a summary of the report was prepared for inclusion in the IPG. - The experimental programme, designed to fill in the gaps in the available experimental information, was completed and again a summary report was included in the IPG. - Newsletters were circulated to disseminate the HYPER project activity and inform stakeholders and the public. - A series of dissemination and stakeholders consultative group seminars was held to create synergies and harmonise approaches between EU hydrogen and fuel cell projects and to inform potential users of the IPG of its contents, the relevance to them and provide feedback and evaluation of the IPG drafts. - A research programme was carried out to establish if a viable optical sensor could be developed. The preliminary results showed that a thin coat of palladium and / or a combination of palladium and a red pigment could give a colorimetric sensor capable of detecting hydrogen gas in variable humidity conditions. - A report has been prepared documenting the current state of the art in hydrogen sensors and sensor systems to aid installers in their choice of detection methods. - The main output of the project was the implementation permittance guide (IPG) for stationary fuel cells. This deliverable has been completed. - As a means of disseminating the IPG to a wider audience, a CD Rom has been compiled and an interactive web site developed specifically to make the detailed information held within the appendices readily available. - An executive guide to the IPG has been prepared for those potential users and other interested parties that do not wish to read the whole document in the first instance. - A document detailing the follow-up strategy has been prepared to demonstrate how the IPG will be maintained, improved and adapted in the years following the end of the project.

The final goal of the HYPER project was to develop an IPG for small stationary hydrogen and fuel cell systems. By developing an agreed installation permitting process for developers, design engineers, manufacturers, installers and authorities having jurisdiction across the European Union, the IPG provides a means to fast-track approval of safety and procedural issues for these installations.

A safe and well-defined installation process facilitates commercialisation of hydrogen and fuel cell systems for stationary power applications in urban environments, servicing industry, small and medium sized enterprises and domestic premises.